SECTION 3.303. Transportation and Delivery Charges

(a) Transportation charges for taxable items. The sales tax applies to all transportation or delivery charges to a customer when a taxable item is sold, leased or rented on or after October 1, 1987, and delivery charges are billed by the seller or lessor to the purchaser or lessee. The charges for transportation or delivery, both before and after the sale, are taxable even if stated separately from the sales price of a taxable item. These charges are considered to be services or expenses connected to the sale.

(b) Charges by third party carriers. A third party carrier (separate legal entity) will not be responsible for collecting or remitting tax as long as the third party carrier only provides transportation and does not sell the taxable item being delivered.

(c) Common terminology. The term "transportation and delivery charges' includes all other terms used by common or contract carries to describe transportation, such as freight, shipping, delivery, or postage.

(d) Postage charges. Separately stated charges for postage are not taxable when billed by the seller to a client if the cost of the postage was incurred by the seller at the request of the client to distribute taxable items to third party recipients designated by the seller's client.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.303 adopted to be effective December 31, 1987, 12 TexReg 4787; amended to be effective April 13, 2005, 30 TexReg 2083